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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. march — the month
  8. wake — a trail
  9. land — to come down
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. staff — employees
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. key — for a lock
  16. land — a country
  17. key — the most important part
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. staff — a stick
  20. march — music
  21. key — in music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — ground
  24. chest — a box

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com